Germany seeks US reassurance on Ukraine as Greenland dispute tests NATO unity

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, January 12. The visit came just days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Europe to raise the “price of war” in Ukraine for Russia. The discussion between Rubio and Wadephul had featured “advancing efforts toward peace between Russia and Ukraine”. Germany has made it clear that it will be willing to support a military mission as part of a security guarantee.

Publicly, both the US and Germany say they support the NATO alliance on defending Ukraine; however, European officials fear that among the crowd of global agendas, Ukraine is slipping behind with new emerging flashpoints like Venezuela, Iran and Greenland.

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Following the meeting, Wadephul said that NATO is considering a broader US military presence in the Greenland region. He said that they are optimistic about a "compromise" about Greenland with the United States. While talking to the reporters following the meeting, Wadephul said, “NATO is currently starting to work on concrete plans which will be discussed with our US partners,” while the details of the meeting or conversation were not discussed, but the broad proposal points to a larger NATO presence in the Arctic.

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“We are indeed discussing Greenland within NATO. We share the American concerns that this part of Denmark needs to be better protected,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to India.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for the annexation of Greenland from Denmark. “If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I’m not going to let that happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

The conflict has strained the relationship within NATO. For the majority of 2025, the European Union has been pleading with the US for support on the eastern front conflict with Russia, but now faces a threat from the US on the western front. Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are meeting on Wednesday for further discussion. It remains unclear how the US will respond to the option of having a broader military footprint in Greenland.